Friday, June 17, 2016

Beyond Compliance. It sounds so innocent. It sounds so good.
It’s one of those phrases like “apple pie” that just seems nice when you hear
it. If compliance is good, beyond compliance must be terrific.

Yet the actual phrase “beyond compliance” is being used in a
way that is, simply put, inaccurate.

I’m referring, of course, to the Federal Motor Carrier
Safety Administration’s proposal to allow carriers to add certain technology to
their trucks and, as a result, have their safety scores improve.

I’m a language guy, and the use of language here flat out
stinks.

I start with “beyond.” The word actually has several related
definitions. But in this case, the FMCSA clearly intends this definition:

“Superior to; surpassing; more than; in excess of; over and
above.”

The fact is, the types of technologies – and even the safety
programs FMCSA says should be attached to them – are already in use. Based on
the results from carriers who use ELDs, speed limiters and other new truck
tech, these do not ensure compliance that is “superior to” or “surpassing” the
compliance of others.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Editor’s Note: The National Weather Service has issued
excessive heat warnings and advisories for the central and southern Plains
states as well as southern California, Arizona, and portions of western
Colorado and central New Mexico. Extremely high temperatures can lead to
serious illness and injury, as evidenced by this story from July 21, 2015. A
trucker delivering a load to a chemical plant in Virginia suffered a dangerous
heat-related illness after the facility refused to allow him to leave his truck
or idle while it was being loaded. Be sure to read through for tips on what to
do to treat heat exhaustion or heat stroke, and check out all of Land Line’s heat-wave coverage here.)

It’s the dog days of summer, and you find yourself stuck in place where you
can’t idle. Maybe it’s a loading dock where you’re waiting for a hazmat load,
or maybe a high-security facility where visitors aren’t allowed to leave their
cabs. Temperatures outside are pushing triple-digits, but behind all that glass
in the cab the air temperature is getting even hotter. How long can you just
sit there sweating before an inconvenience becomes a serious risk to your
health?

The National Weather Service has issued heat advisories
throughout the southern and eastern U.S., with heat index values as high as 100
to 110 degrees. Health experts agree that heat illnesses such as heat
exhaustion and heatstroke should not be taken lightly. As the temperatures
rise, the amount of exposure you can take to extreme heat lessens.
Susceptibility to heat-related illness can also be increased by factors such as
age, obesity and certain medications.

If the above scenario sounds a little far-fetched, consider
the recent plight of a tanker truck driver who suffered a heatstroke and had to
be hospitalized for days. He had parked his rig at a loading area of a chemical
plant in Virginia, where the temperatures outside were 98 degrees. The customer
has a strict “no-idle” policy, due to the hazardous materials that were being
loaded into the tanker. The driver said he spent over two hours in the cab of
his truck, where temperatures soared to 140 degrees. Some plant workers noticed
the driver slumped over his steering wheel, pulled him out of the cab and
called 911. Paramedics took him to a local hospital.

Flanked by his wife and four of his eight children,
Underwood, an OOIDA member from Alta Vista, Kan., was also surrounded by
numerous members of his late mother, Nelda (Huckaby) Underwood’s extended
family as well, who reside in nearby towns and parishes.

“It was a family reunion, is what it was,” Underwood said in
a phone interview with Land Line.
“One of the reasons I chose that truck stop is my mother’s family is from that
part of Louisiana. I’m related to about half the people down there.”

Even some passers-by who were road-tripping from Ohio to
Texas and stopped at the TA for fuel saw the tent, heard the music, and decided
to crash the party.

“I didn’t know whether they were cousins or what, but when I
started talking to them, they said ‘No, we saw the party going on and decided
to join it,” he said. “They got food, they got everything. They were treated
like royalty. … I was glad they stopped.”

A trucker for the better part of the last 54 years,
Underwood also served for 21 years in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot,
seeing active duty in Vietnam. A decorated veteran, his commendations include
the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also served as the pilot for numerous
dignitaries, including Walter Mondale, Margaret Thatcher and Golda Meir.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

OOIDA Life Member Tom Trotter sent us a link today to a
story from Oklahoma City’s News 9
about the recent International Roadcheck 2016. Apparently, a Texas attorney
made the news when he said that the
highways are “more dangerous” after the three-day inspection blitz. That’s
right. A lawyer named Steve Laird says the worst offenders with the most unsafe
trucks intentionally stay off the road for what he says truckers call
“Roadcheck Vacation.”

It’s Laird’s opinion that the safety scofflaws stay parked
at home for the 72 hours and then hit the road like bats out of hell to “make
up for lost time.” His perceptive epiphany even appeared in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram as a special editorial.

In all fairness, the News
9 reporter asked safety inspectors for their opinion – which was they did
not think large numbers of truckers take part in “Roadcheck Vacation.”

The only thing that could have made it better was if Bill
Ater Sr., who also made a career as a truck driver, could have been there to
see the Petro in Carl’s Corner officially renamed the Bill Ater Jr. Stopping
Center.

“My only regret I have is that my dad died four years ago,”
he said. “I knew dad was proud of me, but I would have loved him to see our
name on the truck stop. If dad was still alive, I would have left the Jr. off,
so that he could share.”

Ater, a resident of Arlington, Texas, used his time to speak
at the ceremony to honor his dad, who was still trucking at age 85.

“I thanked my dad for raising me right,” he said.

Ater said his father’s influence helped him decide what he
wanted to do for a career when he was a teenager.

Bill Ater Jr. was joined by several familymembers and friends at the Citizen DriverAward ceremony on June 11. (Submitted photo)

“I didn’t have good grades in school,” he said. “I already
knew what I was going to do. Actually the day after we got let out as seniors
even before the graduation ceremony, I was delivering a load of gravel to my
government teacher’s house. I knew what I was going to do. I was going into the
trucking business.”

Ater has been a truck driver for more than 40 years. Ater
earned the Citizen Driver Award for being an ambassador of the trucking
industry and for his work during natural disasters. Ater has delivered supplies
to devastated areas hit by storms, including Hurricane Katrina and tornadoes in
Oklahoma.

Again, Ater credits his parents for teaching him to help
others in need.

“It’s just helping people,” Ater said. “You’re just supposed
to help people. My dad always helped people. You see a need. You fill a need.”

In addition to the Citizen Driver Award, Ater achieved
Landstar’s Million Miler award this year and will be one of 10 to receive
Landstar’s Roadstar award at a July ceremony in Orlando, Fla.

“My dad and I used to always say that if you do something
you love, then you never have to work a day in your life. I just love my job.”

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